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Rebound in EU broiler production and consumption forecast
EU broiler production looks set to rebound in 2007, in spite of an
expected four per cent decrease in production in 2006 compared to last year,
according to a new report.
This year's downturn is blamed primarily in outbreaks
of avian influenza (AI), but the end of the ban on French poultry exports, as
well as some easing of the international
AI
impact on poultry consumption, are expected to allow EU chicken exports to
partially recover over the rest of 2006.
The US Department of Agriculture's GAIN
analysis unit reports that consumption is forecast to decrease by 1.3 percent
overall in 2006, but with significant regional differences between the south and
the north of Europe.
In Greece and Italy, temporary consumption decreases of 90 and 70 percent
respectively were reported. In contrast, consumption in the UK and some of the
new member states increased, perhaps because of cheap poultry prices.
As at April 2006, the EU had built up commercial poultry stocks amounting to
300,000 metric tonnes, as a result of lower demand due to consumer fears about
AI.
Chicken production started to decrease in Greece and Italy, as AI outbreaks
in Romania, Turkey, and subsequently Greece, were turning consumers away from
poultry consumption.
The situation also forced producers in other EU countries to reduce chicken
production, especially in places that are highly export oriented, such as the
Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
The report's analysts expect EU chicken exports to decrease significantly
during 2006, as a result of decreased demand in world markets because of the AI
crisis and a glut of cheap poultry from Brazil and the
US.
Editor WorldPoultry
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